


Painting Water

by Craptastic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Keith (Voltron), Drinking, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Violinist Lance (Voltron), broganes, everyone except pidge is over 21, shes a trans girl fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-26 16:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13239729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Craptastic/pseuds/Craptastic
Summary: Lance is expecting this year of college to go the same way as always, a few performances along with grueling studying towards the end goal of getting his degree in violin performance. Maybe a party here and there and some fun nights with friends, but he would have never expected the whirlwind a pretty arts major causes. Keith steps into his life and soon enough he finds himself seeking out those warm smiles and bright laughs. But what if Keith catches feelings before Lance is ready to?





	Painting Water

**Author's Note:**

> This is for bluest-paladin on tumblr! I was her secret santa! I hope you enjoy!

The soulful melodies and perfect harmonies. The captivating climaxes and soft resolutions. The conversation between the woodwinds and arguments with the strings. The orchestra before singing a colorful story full of conflicts and resolutions within the perfected notes. 

Lance falls in love every time the notes flow out of his violin, the notes trickling to the audience alongside the beautiful melodies and harmonies throughout the orchestra. He sways alongside the tempo of the music coursing through him until the final note is played. Applause fills his ears while a smile spreads across his face. He stands proudly with the orchestra as the thunderous applause continues to ring through his ears.

As he finally walks off stage he feels like he’s walking on air after the high of a wondrous performance alongside his fellow musicians. After placing his violin into his case he bounds over to his friends, joining them in congratulating each other for the great performance. He receives some from those he doesn’t normally speak for his solo in the second movement, the joy increasing with each praise.

Lance follows his friends outside into the lobby of the hall to speak to friends and family who came to support them in their performance. He knows his family won’t be there, the university too far away for them to come to every performance he has. He smiles at the comments he receives but his head is somewhere else until Shiro calls out to him.

Shiro is the first chair cellist of the orchestra, leading to them making faces at each other during the lows of rehearsal depending on the configuration of the orchestra. He’s a few years older than him, on his way to a master in cello performance and conducting. He turns to find Shiro pushing a boy that looks to be his age towards him, slight awe on his face as he stares at Lance. He offers him a small smile turning to face Shiro.

“Lance, this is my little brother, Keith. I had to do quite a bit of convincing for him to come to the performance tonight, but I think after seeing you perform it won’t be too hard.”

Lance laughs at his comment and the way that Keith not so subtly jabs Shiro’s side as his face flares with blush. He takes a moment to look at Keith, noticing the attractiveness of the man in front of him. His lips quirk up in mirth at the outdated hairstyle, but he’ll let it slide when it frames such a pretty face. Tight black jeans hug legs sculpted magnificently while a loose jacket hangs from his broad shoulders.

He holds out his hand to Keith that he grabs in a firm handshake seconds later as he says, “Nice to meet you, Keith. Do you go to school here?”

Keith releases his hand as he nods in confirmation.

“Yeah, I major in illustration and painting at the arts institute.”

Lance’s mouth quirks up into a smirk at this information.

“Well, why don’t I be your muse for the- ”

He’s cut off by Shiro’s sharp glare and droning call of his name. Lance pouts briefly, how could he not attempt to flirt with the attractive man before him who seemed to find him attractive too? Even if he did not get to use all of his charms he still managed to increase the blush on Keith’s face. Lance is about to throw caution to the wind and give another comment before he’s distracted by the call of his name. A few friends are calling him over. With an apologetic goodbye, he leaves Keith and Shiro, expecting that to be the last interaction he has with Keith.

He couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Not even a week has passed before their paths cross again.

Lance is lounging on the couch of the apartment he shares with his two best friends, Hunk and Pidge. Hunk and Lance met during a music summer camp back in high school and stayed in touch ever since. When they ended up going to college they roomed together since freshman year, and have been for the past three years. When they met Pidge in their second year they added her to their living arrangements as both another friend and another way to pay for rent. They have the same circle of friends, so when Lance receives a text saying Hunk is bringing over someone new his interest is piqued. He knows it’s one of Pidges friends as well, so he doesn’t think much of it.

What he wasn’t expecting was the same man who he who attempted to flirt with not too many days ago. As soon as he walks through the small door to their crappy apartment he jolts up to sit on the rickety couch. He practically has to hold himself back from walking over and nervously beginning conversation with him. His messy still frames that pretty face connected to that toned body that has Lance itching to see if there are abs underneath that tight black shirt. Pidge is the first one to break him out of his reverie.

“Hey, Lance this is a Keith, he’s a friend from class so be nice,” Pidge says before plopping herself down next to him on the couch.

“Y- yeah we’ve met before.” He clears his throat before continuing. “Shiro’s brother, right?”

Keith gives him a small nod as he follows Hunk into the living space area. He takes a seat at one of the armchairs in the room, awkwardness radiating off of him with how he awkwardly sits rigidly on the seat. Lance notices all too quickly the way he looks like he’s about to sprint out of the room. Making a quick decision he stands up and makes his way over the small gaming system they rigged up on the television. He places Mario Kart into it before tossing one of the controllers over to Keith as he turns it on. As soon as the television lights up with the game Pidge clamors over to get a controller for herself. Lance takes one for himself and hands the other to Hunk.

There’s nothing better to open a person up other than some good old-fashioned competition, and it seems Keith is up to the rise. Lance makes an effort to edge on Keith the entire time of the first game as the other stays silent. He’ll get a reaction out of him by the end of the match, he promises himself.

Keith somehow manages to place himself in first with only a small fraction of the race left, but Lance has been preparing for this. Just as Keith is about to turn the corner Lance launches his blue shell, ruining any of Keith’s dreams of winning.

Hell breaks loose.

“Are you serious! I was so close and you just had to use that you little twerp!” Keith shouts at him, game long forgetting as he throws his controller to the ground as Pidge passes the finishing line first.

Lance shrugs at his outbursts with a shrug as he secures his place of second. It’s not the best, but the whole goal of the game was to get Keith to react so he basically won. He smirks at Keith as he gently places the controller on the table gently, a word most likely void in Keith’s vocabulary.

“It’s not my fault you suck at Mario Kart, mullet head.”

Lance’s cheshire cat grin only widens as Keith rises to the bait.

“Mullet?! My hair isn’t a mullet!” Keith groans as he stands up to walk over to Lance.

Lance laughs at his response, standing up as well to match him.

“Are you sure you haven’t received any calls from the 70s? They want their hairstyle back.”

Before Keith is able to respond Pidge interrupts. But of course, not with the scolding of the both of them, only of Lance. Her long-suffering sigh stops the two of them from going at each other’s necks.

“Lance, didn’t I tell you to be nice? Are you incapable of listening to one small direction?” Pidge asks.

Lance glares at her, that as if before a light bulb goes off. The memory of Keith’s blushing face makes its way to Lance’s mind. He turns to Keith as he addresses Pidge.

“Sorry, when in the presence of such a pretty boy I can’t think straight.” He waits until he sees Keith’s face begin to burn crimson before he turns back to Pidge. He wiggles his eyebrows as he says, “Because I’m not straight."

Pidge groans at him as she leans back into the couch, a chuckle from Hunk not too far behind. Lance breaks out into laughter at his joke to the point of having to clutch his stomach. He’s definitely used the same joke before, but it never gets old.

“Well, then you must be not as pretty as you think if I’m gay and thinking clearly,” Keith replies with a huff.

Lance draws in a large, fake gasp as he clutches his heart. He dramatically falls back onto the couch.

“Keith, buddy, amigo, pal, you wound me. I will die a painful and slow death for the fatal wound you just dealt. How will I ever survive."

Keith huffs as he sits down on the couch next to him, poking him in the side once he sits back.

“You won’t,” Keith replies simply.

Lance frowns at the snicker he can hear from Pidge. He cracks his eyes slightly to look at Keith. His frown quickly turns into a smile at how Keith seems to relax against the couch, the aura of discomfort nowhere to be found. He sits up properly to start another game, but not without pouting at Keith for the entirety of the next round. Afterwards, their back to their light bickering, pushing each other on, but in a light-hearted sense.

After a few rounds of other games and two pizzas ordered gone the evening is about to end. That is until Pidge pulls out the bottle of beers along with other miscellaneous alcoholic beverages sitting inside the fridge. She places the package on top of their coffee table with a sort of triumph, but as soon as she does Lance’s Protective Sibling instincts kick in.

“Pidge, no, you’re not 21 I’m not letting you drink. Plus, if Matt found out he would kill me,” Lance chasites.

This, however, does not stop him from grabbing one of the drinks and taking a sip for himself. He’s reached the age of maturity to drink, he’s deserved this. Hunk and Keith obviously agree with how they both reach for a drink as well. Pidge begins to pout as they drink. Lance may allow her a small, minuscule sip after suffering her whining, but not anymore. If there was any leftover discomfort Keith was harboring in their presence it’s surely gone by his third drink. They aren’t drunk, just a bit tipsy with their heads a bit foggy.

“Mm, I say, that aliens are real.” Keith pauses in his proclamation to take another drink. “All those in agreement say I.

He receives a chorus of “I”s. They started playing this game after Lance’s second drink. He’s only slightly tipsy after his third, but he doesn’t mind. Pidge is splayed across the couch, laughing at her drunk friends. He’s just glad she’s having fun without the addition of alcohol in her system. Keith nudges him, they both moved to sit on the floor in front of the couch, their shoulders touching.

“Your turn,” Keith says.

“I say, that Tchaikovsky's 1812 is his gayest work. All those in agreement say I.”

“I would say I but I hated that overture so much. Don’t ever speak of it again,” Hunk replies.

Lance barks out with laughter at his friend's response. He remembers his friend's constant complaining about the oboe part when the symphony played the piece last year. He reaches over to his friend to pat his arm in consolation.

“I have one!” Pidge excitedly shouts from her spot on the couch. “Keith has an obscene amount of paint even though that’s not his major focus. He practically has a whole wall of it. Why do you need that much paint!”

Lance feels Keith turn around to Pidge, most likely glaring at him from the way his voice barely hides his offense.

“For the project I’m working on, plus paints are fun. Don’t judge me, you have your shit ton of ink.”

“If we’re going to talk about the things we hoard Lance has a large amount of extra strings. I get they break, but do you really need that many? You even keep the ones that break they have no use,” Hunk adds.

Lance gasps at the accusation made by Hunk. He glares at him, trying to come up with a response to but his foggy mind comes up blank.

“You hoard something. Can’t think of what. But it’s something,” Lance says.

Next to him, Keith bursts out into laughter, leaning into Lance’s side as he doubles over. Lance turns slowly to watch him, enraptured by the crinkle in the corner of his eyes and the brightness of his smile. In his drunk state, he follows suit and begins to laugh. He doesn’t know why, but he doesn’t really care either. He eventually stops due to Keith’s insistent poking of his arm. He stops and focuses on Keith, finding the other staring intently at him.

“Your laugh is really cute,” Keith states.

Lance’s face begins to flare as he fumbles with a response. “Well, well your laugh is really cute! Cuter than mine!”

“Well you’re face is cuter than mine!” Keith responds.

“Your smile is cuter than mine!”

“Your eyes are cuter than mine!”

“Well, your face is cuter than mine!”

Pidge gently nudges the both of them to get them out of their argument.

“You’re both the most beautiful people ever, now stop yelling.” She stands up from the couch and stretches before nudging Lance once more. “It’s late, you all should go to bed soon. Keith, you can take the couch if you want.”

Keith responds with a soft mumble of acknowledgment before he clambers up to lay on the couch. Lance misses the warmth of him next to him. Pidge says goodnight to all of them, soon followed by Hunk. Lance is left alone with Keith laying behind him, humming softly to himself. Lance tries to stay completely silent to hear the notes he hums, the tune sounding familiar to him.

Then he realizes.

The short solo he had at the last concert.

The notes are a bit shaky and out of tune but Lance is able to pick it up after practicing it a thousand times to perfection. He turns his head back to see Keith already staring at him. When their eyes meet Keith sends him a small smile that causes butterflies to erupt inside of his stomach. He shakily returns it.

“Is that my solo?” He asks.

Keith nods, as much as he can while his head lays on top of his arm.

“Had it stuck in my head ever since I heard it.” Keith smiles wider while his other hand goes to poke Lance in the cheek. “I’ve had you stuck in my head since I saw you.”

Lance can feel the heat increasing across his face, all the way to the tips of his ears. The world pauses as he stares back at Keith, trying to decipher what’s behind those pretty eyes. All he finds is the drunken smile of a man he only met a few days ago.

Nothing special.

He stands up promptly, turning away from Keith and towards the hall to his bedroom.

“Yep, you’re definitely drunk and I’m definitely going to bed. Goodnight mullet.”

“Goodnight, Lance,” Keith says softly.

He tries to shake off the thought of how much that voice leaves a warm feeling in his heart.

* * *

 

Lance wakes up to the smell of Hunk’s cooking wafting into his bedroom. The aroma pulls him out of bed, after the obligatory wincing at the headache pounding against his skull. He didn’t think he had much to drink last night but apparently his head seems to think otherwise. He pads out of his room out into the apartment to walk over to the kitchen.

He doesn’t notice the red jacket still hanging on the side of the couch. He does, however, notice Keith sitting the at the kitchen island counter with a snarky smile aimed towards him. Lance raises an eyebrow at him before he glances down at himself, noticing how he remains in only his pajama pants, which are covered in cartoon cats. He glares back at Keith before sitting next to him in one of the stools.

“They were a gift from my older brother, don’t judge me.” He gratefully takes the glass of water offered to him by Hunk. “Why are even still here?”

“Hunk offered to make breakfast before I left, why would I pass that opportunity up?”

“Understandable. Hunk’s cooking is to die for,” Lance says.

Hunk flusters at the compliment as he continues to make pancakes that are good enough to present to the gods. He lays out a platter of pancakes for them before sitting next to Lance, Pidge joining not too much later. They make idle conversation before Pidge prompts the conversation for the plans for the rest of their day.

“Keith and I need to go to our student art exhibition that just opened, do you two wanna come too?”

Lance beams at the offer before nodding at her, quickly chewing the last piece of food to speak to her.

“Definitely! Will the piece you’ve been working on be there?” Lance asks.

Pidge gives her affirmation and they make plans to meet up at the front of the fine arts center the exhibition is taking place at, giving Keith time to head home and change. An hour later they all stand in front of the building ready to go in. Pidge leads them in, directing them to the area that has been allocated for the exhibition. She excitedly brings them over to her piece, a beautiful monochrome forest. Lance and Hunk oo and ah at the piece, stepping closer to find out the forest is made out of mechanical pieces. Lance praises every small aspect of the piece he can point out, happy to see his friend beaming with pride at her artwork.

Once Hunk begins to give his praise Lance steps back for a moment to locate Keith. He’s a few pieces away, observing his other classmates pieces. Lance walks over to him, tapping him lightly on the shoulder to gain his attention. Keith slowly turns towards him, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Where is your piece?” Lance asks what he hopes is an encouraging smile.

“Um,” Keith turns away from him to look down the hall before turning back to him. “It’s towards end, I can show you if you want?”

Lance nods energetically at him, causing Keith to let out a small amused huff before he starts his way over to his piece. He stops in front of a large canvas, turning to Lance instead of looking at the piece. He fidgets as he stands in front of it, rubbing the fabric of his jacket between his fingers.

“This is it,” Keith says as he gestures back to it.

Lance is in awe at the painting in front of him. A small boy, looking up to the sky, stands on top of an ocean, a small fire within his hands. The embers of the fire slowly lead up to the starry scene above him, turning into the stars that dot the galaxy. The bright galaxy is reflected upon the water, causing the boy to look as if he stands amongst the stars. Lance stares at the painting, forgetting Keith stands beside him until he clears his throat.

“What do you think?” Keith asks quietly.

Lance turns to him, a bright smile on his face. He gestures to the painting, spluttering to find the words to find the way he feels about the painting.

“You- you made this! How! It’s amazing, how did you do that! It’s,” He turns to hold onto Keith’s shoulders, looking straight into his eyes. “It is the most breathtaking thing I have ever seen. It is spectacular!”

Lance lets go of him to look back to the painting.

“Not saying that it’s more beautiful than you, but it’s definitely up there.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Keith blushing at his words, coughing awkwardly at the praise.

“Thanks,” Keith says after a moment of silence.

Pidge and Hunk make their way over soon afterward, Lance still taking in the painting. They spend some more time in the exhibition, walking around to view all the pieces of artwork. Lance may be a little bit biased, but he doesn’t think any of them compare to Keith’s. He receives a small bit of pouting from PIdge from it, but nothing some more praise doesn’t fix. Lance smiles to himself as he exits the building, happy with how he’s spent the day so far. Keith announces that he has to go, but before he does Lance manages to get his phone number. He puts him in as “Cute Art Boy”.

* * *

 Since then the excursions he has with Pidge and Hunk have one more person added to the mix. He even spends some time one on one with Keith, learning more about the slightly reclusive art major with every outing. Usually Lance is the one to initiate any conversations between the two of them, so when he receives a text during his weekly self-care night with Allura, a chorister that tends to do solos for the orchestra when needed. They met each other after he and Shiro became friends, and ever since Lance has seen Allura as an extra older sister with how close they’ve become.

_Hey_

Lance balks at the short one-word text sent by none other than Keith.

“Who's that?” Allura asks as she applies her second coat of nail polish.

“Uh, a new friend, Keith,” Lance answers.

“Oh! Shiro’s little brother,” Allura says in response.

Lance only nods as he sends Keith a text back.

_hey whats up?_

He places his phone back on the floor next to him as he finishes off the last coat of his nail polish. Not picking it back up until his nails have finished drying the soft blue polish. He makes idle conversation with Allura to pass the waiting time.

“So, have you two been hanging out a lot?” Allura asks.

Lance nods. “Yeah, Hunk invited him over a few weeks ago to hang out and since then we’ve been friends. He’s a cool dude.”

Allura hums back to him.

“It’s good to see he’s making friends. From what Shiro’s told me it seems he has a hard time connecting with people.” She pauses to lightly touch the face mask that has been drying on her face. “I’m gonna wash this off, be back in a few.

Lance nods to her, pulling his phone out once she leaves for the bathroom.

_Nothing much. Couldn’t sleep and thought to see if you were still up_

Lance scrunches his eyebrows at the response. Sure, he and Keith are close but are they close enough for Keith to want to reach out to Lance when he couldn’t sleep? Lance didn’t mind but with being unable to sense where he and Keith stand make it more confusing.

_somthn u wanna talk about?_

_Nervous about what to do for a submission I have coming up. I have most of the pieces done but the main one I don’t know about_

_whats it for?_

_Being part of a local art gala. Worried if its not good enough I won't get in_

Lance huffs at the text that comes up. How could Keith think he wouldn’t get into the gala? His art was amazing and constantly awed Lance. He wishes Keith could see his art the way he does, see how magnificent it is to someone else looking in. Allura walks back into the room and lets out a small laugh at him, causing him to look up at her.

“Why are you making a sour face?” Allura asks.

Lance throws his hands up in the air, sending his phone to the floor.

“Keith doesn’t think his art is good enough! I mean, come on have you seen it, it’s amazing!”

Allura laughs lightly at him, shaking her head at his antics.

“You sound like that time I was getting anxious over a performance with my first solo. Just do the same thing you did for me, assure him he’s better than he thinks he is. You’re good at lifting someone up,” Allura comforts.

Lance blushes slightly at the praise before nodding and going back to texting Keith.

_blasphemy. anything u do will be amazing_ _  
_

_Thanks Lance._

The period at the end of the text sends Lance reeling. Did he say something wrong? Or is there something else wrong with Keith?

_is that really it?_

_Well… I do know what I want the main piece to be just dont know if I can do it justice_

Lance rolls his eyes, ignoring the way it causes Allura to laugh. No matter what Keith is creating the piece will look ethereal.

_wrong part 2. ur art is breathtaking. i will fight you on this_

He waits for a reply and when it’s not as instant as the others he begins to fret. He reads the conversation over again before deciding to send second text.

_what do you want to paint?_

The reply comes seconds later.

_I want to paint you while you play_

Lance’s face flares at the simple sentence that sends his head spinning. Keith wants to paint him? Keith, who is capable of creating breathtaking art pieces of other-worldly things in a way that makes you feel it was real, wants to paint Lance? Lance, whose best attribute is the ability to play an instrument thousands have before with music written by someone else? Why would Keith want to paint Lance, who could be recreated by anyone else who put their mind to it?

He’s pulled out of his thoughts as his phone vibrates with a second text.

_Sorry if that was too forward it’s just that since I first saw you playing I’ve wanted to paint it. You just have this aura when you play that I want to capture because I can’t get it out of my head. I fell like the notes you play are all colors that I can see but can’t reach. That probably sounds weird, sorry again._

Lance scrambles to type out a reply

_no no its ok!!! not weird at all_

He pauses. He could just play it off and tell Keith he has other things to be creating. Things more beautiful than him, especially for something so important. He doesn’t get the chance after Keith texts him again.

_If it’s ok, could I come and paint you sometime?_

Lance has to restrain himself from throwing his phone across the room. Keith wanting to paint him, finding him interesting enough to want to create something about him, sends a jolt to his heart. He sends back a quick “yep!!!” before he places his phone down on the ground.

“What happened?” Allura asks, the amusement clear in her voice.

Lance hides his face in his hands, grumbling to himself before he looks up to talk to Allura.

“He wants to paint me,” Lance mumbles.

Allura barks out with laughter, having to hold her stomach after a moment. He glares at her as he waits for her to calm down.

“Wait, so paint you as in like paint you on a canvas or paint on you?”

Lance rolls his eyes at her, crossing his arms as he glares at her.

“Which one do you think.”

Allura suggestively wiggles her eyebrows as she says, “Well I know which one you would enjoy more.”

Lance practically screeches as she breaks out into laughter. He grabs onto one of the pillows behind him and throws it at her, attempting to rein her in.

“I’m just joking Lance, calm down. But, I do have to ask, do you like him?”

Lance shakes his head vehemently despite the blush that dusts across his cheeks. He grabs onto another pillow and wraps his arms around it as he leans forward.

“Absolutely not.”

Allura schooches forward and stares back at him.

“I’m calling bullshit,” Allura announces with a smirk.

“Alluraaaaa. I’m serious. I don’t like him. I’m not looking for a relationship either, after what happened with Nyma,” he says, his voice slowly tapering off as he comes to the end.

Allura’s expression softens at the mention of his ex. She reaches out to lift his head so he’s looking up at her. She gives him a soft smile as she speaks.

“Nyma was an asshole and you didn’t deserve that type of treatment. But, Keith won’t treat you that way. And if he does, come get me and I will personally kick his ass into the ground.”

Lance laughs softly at her, feeling better after her words of consolation.

“Now come on, I want to try this new moisturizer I got the other day.”

* * *

Keith and Lance make plans for painting on the weekend when Lance has a large block of free time, no rehearsals to take him away from his time with Keith. They plan to meet at Keith’s apartment that’s only a few minutes away from campus. Lance may have gotten there a bit too early and waited in the parking lot until it was an acceptable time to walk in. Keith buzzes him in, the butterflies in Lance’s stomach starting dance as he goes up the stairs. When he reaches Keith’s floor he sees the door already open, Keith peeking out from the side with wide eyes. As Lance gets closer he sees the worn out, covered in paint jeans that he wears, along with an old t-shirt.

“What? Did you think I would bail?” Lance jokes.

Keith scowls at him despite the small “yes” that makes it way to Lance’s ears. His eyes widen at Keith when he hears it, but he lets it slip as Keith walks further into the apartment. The living area is slightly larger than his own, the living room more spacious, allowing for a desk in the corner. The couch has been pushed back to the wall next to the archway leading to a kitchen to make room for a large easel planted in the middle of the room on top of protective paper. There’s an armchair in front of it, Lance assumes that’s where he’ll be sitting. As Keith moves around to set up his paints, Lance goes over to the couch to place his violin case down. A large sweatshirt sits on the end of the couch.

“Live with your boyfriend?” Lance asks at the strenuous clothes around the apartment that are too big for Keith to fit into.

Keith laughs at him.

“No, Shiro and I share the apartment,” Keith explains.

Lance hums before he continues his questioning.

“So no boyfriend?” Lance asks, trying to hide the hopefulness in his voice.

“Yes Lance, I’m single.” Keith pauses in his preparation to turn back to Lance. “What about you?”

“Single and ready to mingle! Well more like ready to just flirt, my last relationship didn’t end very well,” Lance says with a shrug.

Keith tilts his head to the side as he asks, “What happened?”

Lance pauses a moment before answering. He doesn’t particularly like treading down memory lane, especially with these memories. However, the gentle look Keith sends his way sends him spilling his past.

“Turned out all of those ‘I love you’ were a joke. Nyma was pretty manipulative and for her, I was just a plaything to pay attention to every once in a while. We even owned an apartment together over the summer before she told me it was all just a game for her.” Lance shuffles his foot on the ground as he looks away from Keith. “Haven’t been too open about a relationship for a while.”

Lance goes through the motions of taking his violin out of the case instead of facing Keith. He knows that he stopped moving from the silence of the room.

“Oh.” Lance holds his breath as he waits for Keith to say more. “Sorry, that you had to go through that. You deserve someone better than that.”

Lance only hums in acknowledgment. He wants to disagree, that he deserved her treatment with how he focused on his violin too much. Who would even want a relationship with someone who is only capable of flimsy flirting?

Lance takes in a deep breath before he turns back around to Keith, a bright smile to hide his insecurities. Keith sends a shaky smile back to him.

“You ready?” Keith asks.

He’s standing behind the easel, uncertainty painted over him with how he fidgets with the brush in his hand and shuffles his foot against the ground.

“Yep! Do you want me to sit in that chair?” Lance asks.

Keith nods back to him. Lance makes his way over to the chair, situation himself in a comfortable enough position with his violin up to his chin. He looks up to Keith to see him staring at him in concentration. He wants to talk, but he doesn’t want to break his concentration. After a moment Keith seems to notice his discomfort and sparks a conversation with him as he begins to paint.

“When did you start playing the violin?”

Lance has to think back to when he started, it was so far back ago he barely remembers.

“Well my mom started teaching me when I was really little, I think six? She taught at the local fine arts center so all my siblings have a bit of musicality in them. I wasn’t in an orchestra though until I was eleven and it was only the school orchestra. When did you start drawing?”

Keith laughs softly, causing Lance to raise his eyebrows.

“We all draw when we’re really little, so I’m not sure. Art has always been something I did for fun, and as I got older I guess my interest in it grew. It wasn’t until I was a junior in high school that I started to consider it as something I could pursue for a career. Shiro going towards a performing arts degree and getting in really motivated me to try. I guess that’s what made me want to go into it, knowing Shiro was capable of making a career over something he loves made me think I could too."

The conversation lulls for a moment as Lance digests the new information he gained from Keith. It seems he’s most relaxed when he’s painting based on the amount of information that he told Lance. He files that information away for later.

“Do you want me to just stay still here or do you want me to actually play something?” Lance asks.

Keith shrugs as he responds with, “You can if you want to. If I need you to stop I’ll tell you. Also, if you ever need to take a break just go ahead.”

Lance hums in response. He racks his brain for a song he can play without the music in front of him. He plays some snippets of random songs before a particular one comes to the front of his mind. He smiles before the notes begin to come forth from his violin. It’s a simple melody that repeats the same phrase over and over, just with different interludes between. The small piece ends and he places his violin down on his knee, stretching his back before going back into position.

“What was that song?” Keith asks quietly.

Lance spare a glance to Keith, finding him staring intently at his panting.

“A song my mom taught me before I left for college. I’ve always been super close to my mom so this was a parting gift that I could play and remember her.

Keith stops painting for a moment to poke his head around the lare canvas.

“The song, and your mother, sound lovely."

Lance grins to himself after Keith turns back to his painting.

“Thanks. What about yours?” Lance asks.

“My what?”

“Your parents. What are they like?”

Lance notices the stop of motion from Keith. He places his instrument down to peer over to him to see him startle at Lance's movement.

“I don’t know. My mom left after I was born and my dad did too when I was young. I was adopted later on my the Shiroganes, but I never felt close enough to Shiro’s mom to see her as my own.”

“Oh.” Lance moves back into position when keith begins to paint again. “Sorry that I brought that up.”

“No, it’s fine.” He looks around to see Lance again and give a reassuring smile. “I liked hearing about your family.”

It sends Lance into a spiral of recounsint facts and stories about his family. He loves his family dearly and loves having someone that will tolerate his endless record of his large family. Every once in a while he worries he’s boring Keith, but then he laughs softly at the rescounting of one of his older siblings shenanigans or sees him nodding at his complaining of their tirades on him being the youngest. He makes it all the way to telling the stories of his newest nieces and nephews when Keith sets his brushes down and steps away from the easel.

“I’ve got all the outlines and basics done, we can take a break if you want.”

Lance happily places his violin underneath the seat to stand up and stretch his back. When he comes back up straight he catches Keith’s lingering gaze on the area his lifted up shirt revealed. He wiggles his eyebrows at Keith as he comes nearer to Keith.

“Like what you see, Keithy-boy?” Lance taunts.

“If that’s what you have to tell yourself to fuel your huge ego, sure.”

Lance begins to sulk at his response, hunching his body over and trudging his way over to Keith. He wraps his arms over the back of Keith, resting his chin on the top of his shoulder while he slumps the rest of his weight onto Keith.

“Keith, you can’t say that. I have to have a big ego when I’m in the presence of someone so attractive. I need you to tell me how pretty I am, Keith.”

He hums after Keith replies with an affirmation of, “Sure Lance, you’re pretty.”

With his eyes closed he doesn’t notice Keith’s fingers come closer to his face. He only feels something cold and slimy be wiped onto his cheek. He jumps back from Keith as the other man snickers with laughter. He reaches up to touch the substance to find blue paint smeared across his fingers. He squints his eyes in a glare at Keith, whose laughter just continues to grow after planting a substance that definitely does not belong on Lance’s perfectly taken cared for skin.

As Keith is distracted by his laughing fit, Lance places his fingers onto Keith's palette, taking off a large amount of paint with it.

“Oh you’re gonna get it now, mullet-head,” Lance seethes.

Keith’s eyes widen comically as he runs away from Lance as he begins to chase him. Lance follows him throughout the apartment yelling bloody mary at his stained cheek. All the while Keith is laughing at him, taunting him as he escape his grasp right before Lance is about to catch him. Finally Lance corners him and grabs onto the front of his shirt to keep him in place. WIth a sickening grin he wipes the paint of his fingers onto Keith’s face, smearing the red paint and then transferring the blue from his own cheeks onto his. He rubs in the paint until its a purple covering Keith’s face, making its way into his black strands of hair as well. Throughout the whole process Keith continues to smile and try to wiggle his way out of Lance’s grasp.

After Lance is satisfied with his work he places his hands on either side of Keith’s head, smirking at how he trapped him in.

“I win,” he triumphantly says.

Keith giggles at him, his hand coming up to hide his smile behind. He wipes off some of the paint on his own cheeks, now purple instead of red and blue, and places it back onto Lance.

“You sure did,” Keith murmurs.

It’s then Lance realizes how close they are. How little space there is between them as their breaths mingle together as they catch their breath after the chase.   
Keith is so close to him he could just lean forward and slot their lips together. Figure out what it feels like to have those lips against him. Wrap his arms around his waist and pull him close until he’s flush against him. 

No.

Lance steps back, an awkward laugh tumbling past his lips. He doesn't feel that way for Keith. He won’t let himself feel that way for Keith. Keith is his friends and will stay his friend no matter what. Even if he wants to cross the distance between them and card his hands through his hands until it’s a tousled mess. The not so empty flirts are enough for him, he doesn’t want, won’t let himself want, anything more. Keith deserves better than that.

“We should get back to your painting,” Lance whispers.

Keith nods, and they go back to their spots.

* * *

 

Due to an upcoming performance, Lance doesn’t have much time to spare with his friends, which extends to Keith. They still try to meet up for coffee after class if they both have the time, and they still text each other often. It’s just weird, to not be seeing him so often. He sees most of his friends during orchestra, and he lives with Pidge, so to have someone vital in his life missing for a long enough period of time sends him into a weird state of mind. He thinks of him more often and longs for him to be next to him. When he told Hunk this he gave him a knowing look, but it’s only the feelings of missing a friend.

Nothing more, nothing less.

It doesn’t stop him from jumping any time he hears his phone go off, Keith’s contact name appearing before him.

_I got admitted to the gala_

Lance breaks out into a smile at the text, letting a loud whoop of excitement. He gains Hunk’s attention from the living room who questions what’s got him jumping around the kitchen.

“Keith got accepted into the gala!” Lance joyfully announces.

Hunk smiles at him before saying, “Good for him, tell him I say congrats.”

Lance nods frantically as he pulls his phone out again to give Keith a reply.

_hunk says congrats!!!! so do I!!!! congrats!!!! you should celebrate you deserve it_

_Thinking of going to the club. Wanna come with?_

_someones gotta be your designated driver_

_Is that a yes?_

_yep!!! ill come pick u up in 10_

Lance doesn’t wait for a reply before he’s bounding over to his room to get dressed for the evening. A night out with Keith in celebration sounds perfect after a day of stressful rehearsals.  He quickly changes into a more form-fitting pair of jeans along with a loose shirt. He tries to fix his hair before giving up and dashing out his room. He gives a quick goodbye to Hunk before grabbing his shoes, phone, and keys. He practically runs to his car once he makes it outside. In his excitement he makes it to Keith’s apartment in record time. He sends him a quick text to tell him he’s there.

He fiddles with the radio until he sees Keith coming out to join him in the car. He hops into the passenger seat with a smile aimed at Lance.

“You ready?” Lance asks.

He receives an excited “yes” that pulls a soft chuckle out of him. He takes a moment to take in the man beside him before he starts their journey. Through the soft parking lot light, he can make out the ripped black jeans that hug his lugs and signature snug black top. The excited smile Keith sends his way causes him to laugh once more before he starts up the car. He starts the drive to the nearest club, which isn’t too far away from the University. That’s the great part about going to a school close to a city, everything exciting is only a few minutes away. He already has a club in mind that he’s been to before, Altea Lounge. It’s not long before the neon lights appear in front of him. He steps out into the chilly night air once he’s parked.

They enter the stuffy club with music blasting out from the speakers. SImply stepping through the threshold loosens Lance’s shoulders. He briefly watches those dancing before noticing he’s lost Keith. He quickly searches for him before finding him already at the bar ordering a drink.  Lance pushes through the hoard of people to get to him, placing a light hand on his back to tell Keith of his presence. Lance gets himself a glass water and holds it up to Keith with a smile.

“To you getting into the gala,” he toasts.

Keith laughs at him before he clicks his glass against Lance’s. He downs his drink quickly, ordering another right after.

“Rough week, Keith?” Lance jests.

Keith shakes his head with a loose smile.

“Trying to get rid of some of my inhibitions,” he says with a smirk.

Lance almost chokes on his water.

A few drinks later those inhibitions are definitely out the door.

Keith grabs onto his arm after a few too many drinks with a smile that definitely does not cause Lance’s stomach to flip over a few too many times. Lance grabs on to him, assuming that Keith is holding on to him for balance. He’s proved wrong as Keith begins to lead him away from the counter of the bar and towards the ever growing crowd behind them.

“Dance with me!” Keith requests with a smile.

Lance could never say no to that smile. He allows himself to be pulled into the growing crowd in front of the speakers. He laughs as Keith spins him around in the cluster of people, a laugh slipping past the other's lips as well. Under the dim lights and next to sweaty bodies, Lance grabs onto the hands of a man whose smile pulls Lance in like a beacon. He dances clumsily with a man who doesn’t seem to care about the people he knocks into. He smiles brightly at the man who tips his head back in a laugh at seemingly nothing but everything at the same time.

Lance gets lost in the man in front of him. He’s not drunk at all, but the feeling of Keith’s hands against his as he moves his body loosely to the music is intoxicating in its own way. One song ends and the next begins without either of them noticing the space between them slowly dwindling. One song ends and the next begins without Lance noticing Keith's hands making their way down to his waist. One song ends and the next begins with Lance noticing the way Keith leans close enough for their noses to be almost touching. He almost doesn’t notice how they both start to lean forward.

Lance laughs awkwardly as he takes a step back away from Keith. He pats him on the shoulder while glancing away from the pout on Keith’s face.

Keith is drunk. That’s the only reason it seemed like he was about to kiss Lance. Nothing more, nothing less. No reason for Lance’s pulse to skyrockets and palms start to sweat. Keith isn’t in his right mind and Lance is not about to take advantage of that, no matter how much he wants to grab him and kiss him senseless.

Keith grabs onto his arm and pulls him over to talk into his ear over the booming music.

“I’m ready to go,” Keith says.

Lance nods back and begins to lead them out of the filled building. He helps a stumbling Keith into the passenger seat before going over to his own seat and starting the car. There’s an awkward silence that suffocates the air as Lance begins the drive back to the campus. He turns to see if it’s because Keith fell asleep, only to find him staring right back at him. Lance coughs awkwardly after returning his eyes to the road.

“Do you want McDonald's or something?” Lance asks.

He receives a small hum in response. He changes course to reach the nearest fast food restaurant. He finds one on the path right next leading to one of the many beaches the city has to offer. He goes through the drive-thru before parking in the empty parking lot. Keith takes his soggy fries with maybe too much gratefulness, causing Lance to chuckle at his antics. They sit in silence as they eat their late-night meals with only the sounds of the waves crashing into the shore wafting in through the open window.

“I wanna go down,” Keith mumbles.

“Go down where?” Lance asks with an amused smile.

Keith sits up straighter from his slumped position in his seat before pointing out the window.

“The beach.”

Lance laughs as he shakes his head.

“Keith, buddy no. You’re drunk I’m not letting you walk down to the beach when it’s dark out.”

Keith glares at Lance through his tousled hair. He promptly sticks his tongue out at Lance before he’s rushing to leave the car.

“Try to stop me,” Keith taunts.

Lance doesn’t even have time to call out his name before he’s already stumbling out the car and racing down to the shore. Lance stumbles out of the car to follow him, calling out his name to only be laughed at back. He races to catch up with Keith, only stopping until he reaches the shore. There Keith lays on his back with his toes in the water, laughing boisterously.

“Keith! What do think you’re doing?” Lance fumed.

Lance as to wait until Keith stops his laughing, the scowl on his face hard to keep as his smile is aimed at Lance. Keith shrugs at him before patting the sand next to him.

“Sit,” Keith requests.

Lance shakes his head at Keith’s antics, but not without going to sit down next to him.

“You’re crazy I hope you know that,” Lance says.

Keith hums back in response. Lance huffs at Keith before he goes to fully lay down next to him, staring up the stars as well. It’s not long before he turns to look at Keith instead, finding the view more interesting. He gets to see the stars reflected in his eyes that already look breathtaking on their own. He gets to see the soft smile that seems to be only reserved for him. He’s filled with warmth at the way Keith stares up at the stars like they could answer all of the questions he ever had. He has to refrain from crossing the small distance between them to place a stray strand of hair behind his ear. He has to refrain himself from holding the open hand that lays only centimeters apart from his own.

“The stars are beautiful out here,” Keith whispers.

Lost in his head Lance says the first thing that comes to his mind.

“Not as beautiful as you.”

Lance knows he should regret letting those words slip but the bright crimson that flares against Keith’s cheeks make it worth it. Keith turns his head over to him, attempting to glare at him despite the smile that keeps trying to appear.

“You can’t just say things like that,” Keith pouts.

“What? I can’t say how handsome you are? How pretty your eyes look with the stars reflecting off them? Or how about how cute that pout looks on you?”

Keith’s pout deepens as he pushes on Lance’s shoulder, the blush increasing with every compliment.

“Yes! You can’t say those things, keep them for your pretty girls.”

Lance laughs at him before he says, “Why would I want to say those things to a pretty girl when I have a pretty boy right next to me? Keith you’re all I need.”

Lance laughs even harder when Keith stands up in frustration to kick some freezing water his way. He’s only capable of holding his hands up in a block as Keith continues, too preoccupied with his heavy laughing. When Keith stops for a moment Lance takes the opportunity to launch an attack of his own. He sits up to grab onto Keith, pulling him down with him into the sand.

“I caught you,” Lance says in triumph as Keith wiggles in his grasp. “I win”

He lets go of him to stand up, offering a hand once he stands.

“Now come on, it’s too cold out here. Time to head back."

Keith only nods back at him before he follows him back the car. Lance is glad he doesn’t have to help a clumsy Keith make his way back to the car again, but he also misses the feeling of having him close. The car ride back to Keith’s apartment isn’t awkward this time, instead filled with quiet chatter. They talk about everything and anything, from the disgustingness of the now cold fries to the gala. Once the building comes into view and the car is turned off Lance jumps out along with Keith. He walks him to the door of the building before he stops.

“You think you can get back to your apartment in one piece?” Lance asks.

Keith pouts at him as he responds with, “I’m not that drunk Lance. I could still kick your ass at Mario Kart."

Lance laughs brightly at the comment, not calming down until he realizes the man next to him isn’t laughing with him. He turns to Keith to see what could be wrong to find the man staring back at him. His eyes are soft as he smiles to Lance, endearment painted across his face. The moonlight illuminates him to soften his features. Lance returns the smile hesitantly.

“Keith, what are- “

A soft brush. A faint push. A hesitant smile.

The kiss is so brief that Lance has no time to react before Keith is retreating back with both hope and fear in his eyes.

Lance wishes he didn’t have to shatter that hope.

“Keith, I don’t-. I’m sorry but I- “

Lance is at a lack of words when Keith’s face falls into dismay. Lance feels his heart drop at the crestfallen expression. He didn’t mean for this to happen. He’s usually the one that moves too quickly, acts before the other begins to feel the same. He knows what Keith must be feeling and he knows that if he doesn’t do something the friendship between the two of them will be gone.

Keith turns away from Lance, pulling his scarf up to his nose with the aim to hide.

“No, no, it’s okay I should have asked. I should have known you don’t feel the same. I’m just,” a dry laugh that dies quickly, “I’m so stupid and drunk.”

Lance knows he’s not that dunk. He was only tipsy before and the hours driving around time would have left him at least almost sober. Keith begins to turn away to walk back into the apartment, but Lance latches onto his wrist before he’s able to take the second step. He can’t leave it like this. He can’t let Keith leave before he figures this is, whatever this is.

“Keith, no, listen to me.”

Keith rips his wrist out of his grasp before he whirls around to face Lance. A lump forms in his throat and his heart plummets even further when he becomes able to see Keith’s face. Tears streak angrily down his cheeks. He tries to mask his pain with anger but Lance can tell he’s only seconds away from fully breaking down.

“No, you listen to me.” Keith storms closer to Lance, poking him roughly in the chest once he comes near enough. “You have been flirting with me since day one. You have been leading me on this whole time with and with what you said before?! Was it a joke! Was hanging out with me an excuse to have someone near you could flirt with instead of going out of your way to find a pretty girl?!”

Lance isn’t able to respond with the fury in front of him. But as quickly as it appears the fire is smoldered out. Keith takes a step back as his eyes widen and face ducks down once more.

“Sorry, that was wrong of me. This is my fault I shouldn’t have assumed.” He takes a deep breath in. “I’m going to go, see you later.”

Lance doesn’t try to stop him a second time.

* * *

 Usually the soft morning light cascading into his room is an appreciated start to his morning. Today, the stream of light seems to only fuel his wariness and contempt for the day. He reluctantly trudges his way out of his room to join the rest of the world in their morning activities. Looking forward to the day fills him with dread with the knowledge of having to face his friends after two nights ago. He didn’t have the guts to talk about what happened to anyone the day after the incident, but now as Monday rolls around he knows he won’t be able to escape the questions his friends will have for him. Knows he won’t be able to escape Keith for much longer.  

Somehow Keith became that important to him. That one mistake can spiral into an issue with all others Lance is near to. Lance doesn’t realize how close he is to Keith until it might be too late.

He tries to ignore the guilt festering within his gut as he says a brief good morning to Hunk before heading out for the day's classes and other activities. He barely listens as his professor drones on about music theory, his head stuck on how to fix his situation with Keith. Lance knows that they can’t leave it with last night. He doesn’t want to leave it at that. He wants to have Keith by his side, but as a friend. Right? He hopes they can still be friends.

The events of last night even make their way to distract him during symphony rehearsal. The guilt only increases when he doesn’t enter at the right time, sending a wave of messed up notes through his section as he scrambles to catch up to his stand partner. It also doesn’t help when Shiro is staring at him from across the podium. Even with his eyes trained to the music as his section is called to repeat a phrase he can feel his piercing eyes staring at him.

Keith must have told Shiro, resulting in the older man being frustrated at Lance. Shiro being mad can make the others mad, resulting in the whole group crumbling down. It’s a speculation, an off-chance scenario, but it won’t stop circling inside of Lance’s head. Won’t stop eating away at him, causing his fingers to fumble as they glide across the strings. Now instead of only having Shiro’s intense attention, he gained the concerned looks of the rest of the orchestra as their concertmaster fumbles the notes.

Lance lets out a relieved sigh as the Coran calls for the end of rehearsal, giving last minute notes. Lance is about to stand up and follow the rest of the orchestra off to the wings before he feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to find Coran offering a concerned but comforting smile.

“Everything alright, my boy?” Coran asks.

Lance nods quickly, moving his bow to the stand to scratch the back of his neck.

“Yeah, yeah, just uh,” he looks across the way to see Shiro sending him a glance before walking away with his section. “Had my head in the clouds, won’t happen again I promise.”

“It only becomes a problem if it happens often, and with you I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that. I didn’t because I was unsatisfied with your playing today, I asked because I’m concerned about you. You don’t tend to get so distracted, are you sure everything's alright?”

Lance smiles at Coran before nodding in response. He appreciates Coran’s concern, he truly does, but the issue lies in an area he would rather not discuss with one of the parental figures in his life.

“Yeah, just an issue with a friend,” Lance affirms.

“Is it that Keith boy Allura was telling me about earlier?” Coran asks with the quirk of an eyebrow.

So much for not discussing it with Coran.

“Uh, yeah it is, but I plan on talking to him soon about it,” Lance says.

“Good for you, communication in any relationship is extremely important. I hope it works out for you two,” Coran says.

Lance smiles at him before giving an affirming nod. He says goodbye and picks up his strenuous things before heading out to the wings to pack up his instrument. He barely places his violin within the case before he hears Shiro cough from behind him.

Is today talk to Lance about an issue he doesn't want to talk about to those not involved day? Or is it talk lecture Lance on the screw ups he knows he made but doesn’t know how to deal with them? Either way Lance wants the day to quickly come to an end. 

He finishes packing up his instrument before turning around to Shiro. The brother of the person he rejected last night. Who probably knows about said rejection. Who probably is extremely mad about said rejection.

“Lance?”

He jumps slightly at the call of his name, unaware that his mind went away to worry about Shiro. He takes a breath and steels himself to face Shiro before giving him a bright, fake smile.

“What’s up, Shiro?” Lance asks nervously.

Shiro purses his lips as he looks off to the side. It only increases the anxiety stewing in Lance’s stomach. When Shiro turns back to him his face is full of concern.

“Do you know if anything happened to Keith the other night?” Shiro asks.

Lance is taken aback a moment to process Shiro’s words. Keith didn’t tell him what happened? If he didn’t tell Shiro than why is Shiro so concerned?

“Why? Is something wrong?”

Shiro huffs before he answers with, “He seemed really upset all day yesterday despite him getting into that gala. Then, when I left this morning he was still in bed when he’s usually out on his run already. I’m worried about him."

Lance stares at Shiro while he contemplates how to go about this. He’s not even completely sure on how to go about the situation when he will talk to Keith. Might as well go with the truth, or as much of it he’s willing to let out.

“We did, um. Well he- .” He lets out a sigh before speaking again. “We had a fight? Sort of, but I plan on talking to him about it later. I don’t want to lose him over it.”

Shiro chuckles softly at Lance, causing Lance’s confusion to grow. Shiro quickly ruffles the top of his head.

“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s nothing you two can’t work around. You’re both really close,” Shiro comforts.

Lance returns his affirmation with a soft chuckle before picking up the rest of his things and parting from Shiro. He can’t help but wonder if Shiro would feel the same if he knew what happened. He wonders if he told him the complete truth if it would decrease any of the guilt and concern sitting in the bottom of his stomach.

Lance flops down onto the couch face first, sinking into the worn out cushion. He can smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies from the kitchen along with the soft conversation from Hunk and Pidge. He knows it’s their weekly get together of only the two of them to destress through baking so he doesn’t go over and interrupt. He wants to, he wants to stuff his face with their cookies and wrap himself in one of Hunk’s comforting hugs to dispel the anxiety converting him. Thankfully, his friends know him best and he doesn’t have to join them for them to know somethings wrong. He hears the soft patter of footsteps before a weight is laid on top of his legs. He turns around to see it’s Pidge, who propped herself on the couch and splayed her legs on top of his. She gently nudges him before she speaks.

“What’s making you that sour face?”

Lance mumbles incoherently before he turns his face into the cushions. Hunk comes out from the kitchen soon afterward carrying a tray of freshly baked goods. As soon as he places them on the table Lance jumps up to sit to snag one, or a couple, to stuff his face with. Hunk takes the seat adjacent to the couch and joins in on the consumption of the goodies. After a moment of waiting, Pidge shrugs her shoulders and joins in, turning the television on to some reality show. Lance relaxes at the atmosphere created between the three and soon finds an entire plate of cookies vanishes and another episode coming on before he realized any time has passed. They made idle conversation for throughout the episode. He’s barely paying any attention until a certain name comes up. Pidge begins to talk about one of the projects Keith has before he tunes in.

“Keith made me go with him the other day to pick up some supplies, not that I’m complaining I had to grab some stuff too. He picked up a bunch of paint even though I know the only project he has right now for school is the digital painting. And when I asked he wouldn’t tell me what it was for!” She throws her hands up at the end of her rant. “I only want to know what he’s doing, all his art is so cool.”

“Lance, didn’t you hang out with him two nights ago?” Hunk asks.

Lance coughs at the sudden attention placed on him before nodding. As soon as he nodded Pidge began to pester him.

“So what did you to do? Anything interesting? Anything about the project?”

Lance turns away from them to hide his scarlet face from his friends. Before the night went amiss he did have fun with the work Keith was doing.

“Yeah, we had fun. But uh, something went wrong,” Lance confesses.

Hunk leans forward before asking a simple “What?”

Lance turns to shambles. He goes on to recount how they spent the night closer to one another than they ever have before. How happy he was sitting next to Keith. How happy he was to be spending time with Keith. How it all came crashing down with one simple drunk kiss.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to lose him as a friend but I feel like that is the only option after what happened. And he was drunk! What if he didn’t really mean it!” He takes a deep breath. “I don’t even know how I feel about him. Even if I did like him what if it was a joke? What if after he heard about what happened with Nyma he thought it would be funny to do that too?”

Truly, that’s where it all stems from. Deep down he does know how he feels, he just wants to act like he doesn’t until it’s too much to handle. He knows how much and how often he wants to cross the distance between them and wrap Keith within his arms. How often he wants to gently place a piece behind his ear before leaning in to leave a soft kiss on his lips. How often he wants to take his hand in his and hold on dearly. How often he wants to simply be next to Keith. But what if these feelings will just be seen as another joke? What if he ends up as a laughing stock once again? He doesn’t think he’s capable of handling that from someone like Keith.

“I-. I do like him. I really do, and that scares me because what if this ends up like Nyma? What if this is all a joke? Even if it isn’t Keith deserves better than I can give to him. The only relationship I had ended up with both of us being miserable and it’s because I don’t know what to do! I was so focused on my music that I practically ignored Nyma. I’m still focused on it too much so how could I put myself into a relationship when I know I would be bad for that person. Keith deserves someone who knows how to treat him right and that’s not me.”

Lance ends his rant by flopping into the back of the couch and flinging his arm to cover his face. There are some emotions he didn’t wish to deal with, some he would have liked to of kept hidden. It simultaneously feels like a weight is lifted off his shoulders as two more times than previous is placed right back on. He can tell Hunk moved over to sit next to him from the presence on his shoulder next to him.

“Lance, you know that’s not true. Take a moment to think about how you two act around each other, both of you are happy. Keith isn’t pulling you along, he likes you for you. This obviously isn’t one-sided and Keith obviously thinks differently.”

“Even if he thinks differently doesn’t mean he’s right.”

“Maybe so, but do you really want an opportunity like this to slip past you? Do you really not want to take the chance that maybe it’ll turn out alright and you’ll be really happy together?” Hunk consoles.

Pidge schooches closer to him so that she’s leaning against him.

“Even if you two end up breaking up you’d still know what it would be like to date him. You wouldn’t regret not taking the chance,” Pidge says.

Lance thinks over her words for a moment before he sighs. She’s right. So his Hunk, Shiro, and Coran. Even if they don’t end up together, if he doesn’t go and talk to him their friendship will suffer as well. He nods solemnly at them.

“You guys are right, I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

Pidge begins to push him up as soon as the words leave his mouth.

“Nope, you’re going now or you won’t go at all. I can even text Shiro to skedattle do you two have the place to yourself.”

“Pidge, that not necessary,” Lance groans.

“Too late, I already texted him,” Hunk announces.

Lance glares at him, whispering out a “traitor” on his way up from the couch. He raises his hands in surrender at his friends and makes his way towards the door.

“Alright, I’ll go, but first how do I look?” Lance says as he tries to smooth his hair down.

“You look great, now get out of here and go talk to Keith,” Pidge says.

Lance nods once at them before he’s on his way out the door. On his way over to Keith’s apartment he wonders if he should send a text to Keith, wondering if he will be home. However, he knows that if he stops to send a text he will sike himself and end up turning back around and head home. So he goes forward to the place he would rather have stayed away from for the next lifetime if possible. Entering the parking lot of the apartment complex resurges the memories he has tried to hide in the back of his mind. Of Keith’s defeated look as he turned around and walked back into the apartment. Maybe he should have stopped him a second time, but it’s too late to think about what he might have done.

He shakily steps out of the car, marching to the foyer of the complex. He searches for Keith’s apartment number a buzzes, hoping Keith is there to pick it up. He wipes his hands on his pants multiple times, trying to rid of the anxious sweat that continues to accumulate. He’s about to buzz a second time before his voice comes through the speaker.

“Hello? Who is it?” Keith asks.

Lance sucks in a breath of air at the sound of his voice. It’s only been two days without him but he already misses the sound of his voice. He scrambles to hit the button again so his voice goes to Keith.

“It’s uh, it’s Lance. I wanted to talk.”

There’s a long moment of pause before he hears Keith’s voice again.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” Keith says.

He sounds so tired and it breaks Lance’s heart. He knows it is his fault for why he sounds so down, for the disappointed expression as he turned away. He leans his head against the wall as he calls again.

“Keith, please. I’m sorry ok, I just really want to talk to you. I want to fix this.” He waits a moment with no response. “ _Please_.”

The sound of the door being unlocked goes off. He shouts in joy as he rushes over to the door, yanking it open in his hurry. He starts to run up the stairs to Keith’s floor before he remembers the other residents in the building, and starts to walk at a slightly rushed paced. When he reaches the top of the stairs there stands Keith’s door, but unlike before Keith isn’t there with the door held open for him already. He knocks on the door and waits once more for Keith to open the last set of barriers between them.

Keith opens the door slowly, and doesn’t wait look at him once it’s fully opened. He goes back to the couch where he must have been before and nestles himself into the pile of blankets. Lance walks in slowly, treading carefully into the apartment. After taking his shoes off and placing his other possessions to the side he walks over to Keith.

He didn’t fully realize how nervous he was until the reason is right in front of him. He takes a seat on the couch as well, leaving a large amount of space between the two of them. He hunches in on himself, playing with the frayed fabric of his ripped jeans. As the stiffilign silence is about to suffocate him he opens his mouth to speak, but Keith beats him to the punch.

“I’m sorry about the other day.”

Lance jumps at the sound of his voice, looking over to see him. His arms are crossed tightly as he stares at the wall across from him.

“I really regret what I did. I would a say that I didn’t mean it, but,” he laughs bitterly. “I don’t think that I can.” He takes in a deep breath before looking over to Lance. His eyes are filled with remorse as he speaks to Lance. “I forgot about how you said you didn’t want a relationship and that was wrong of me, I. I fucked everything up and I’m so sorry about that.”

Lance flails at his words, trying to erase their lingering effect in the air with the wave of his hands. He tries to convey to Keith that this isn’t his fault at all with his expression, but he knows he has to explain himself as well.

“No, Keith I don’t-. That wasn’t your fault. It was the complete opposite, it was my fault. I should have explained myself, well I still needed to figure it out for myself, but that was my fault as well. I needed some time to process it and figure my feelings out because I’m still stuck on my insecurities. I still want us to be friends, no matter what, and I should have told you that afterwards instead of letting you walk back inside without an explanation.” He brushes a hand through his hair to calm himself down to continue.

“You are extremely important to me. I love spending time with you and I cherish every second spent together. I don’t want this to end due to my confused feelings and baggage. I actually really-.”

He stops when Keith turns away from Lance, digging his fingers into his arms as he stares at the wall once more.

“I don’t want to be friends, that’s the issue. And that’s my fault. I don’t know if I can just be friends with you without fucking it up again. I-.”

Keith purses his lips before he turns to Lance. He turns completely, moving closer towards Lance as he looks upon him with a sense of longing sorrow.

“I like you, Lance. I like you so much my heart leaps whenever I hear your voice or see your stupid smile or your pretty eyes. I like you Lance, and its tearing me up inside because I can’t deal with these feelings without wanting to hold your hand. And I know you’ve had a bad past with relationships and I hate that because you deserve the entire world.”

Keith’s anger, aimed at himself, seems to dissipate as he gazes at Lance. His eyes soften and his hands drop down to lay limply by his sides. He sighs before he leans his side into the couch, keeping his eyes locked on Lance’s.

“How could I not like you when you’re so caring and compassionate. When everything you do is done with one hundred percent effort, even more if it’s something you love. I like you, and it gets worse every time I see you play, or talk, or smile, or just you.”

Lance’s eyes widen with every word, his heartbeat speeding up after every sentence. His heart swells at the words pour out his lips. Those lips that Lance wants to capture with his own. So he does.

It’s something special.

He grabs onto Keith’s face as he leans forward, pushing his lips against Keith’s forcefully. Their noses clash into each other, causing Lance to go back for a fraction of a second before surgining back in. He presses softer, trying to convey all the emotions trying to erupt from his chest. All the warmth and happiness and gratitude surging out from him. He smiles into it, trying to rein it in to properly kiss Keith but finding it difficult when it simply spreads with each passing second.

He leans back to forcefully look at Keith, rubbing his cheek with his thumb as he notices the shocked expression across his face. He has to stop himself from almost laughing at Keith’s wide doe eyes that stare back at him in awe.

“I like you too.”

Those four words send Keith into a joyful mess. A smile slowly creeps onto his face before he throws his head back in laughter, causing Lance to hold on to his hands instead. Lance joins in on his unrestrained laughter, not stopping until Keith lets go of his hand to pull his face closer to his. Right before Keith softly presses another kiss against his own lips he sees a sight that outshines all masterpieces. An unabashed, loving smile from Keith.

Lance falls even further in love.

* * *

 

Lance walks alongside his boyfriend among the hundreds of art pieces that deck the halls of the museum. Their hands are intertwined at they smile at those they pass. They take their time admiring the pieces and sending praise to the creators. Well, it’s more Keith holds Lance back from sprinting to his boyfriends piece in the gala. He’s just a bit excited to see the finalized piece of the painting Keith made of him. Keith wouldn’t let him see it when he finally finished it, telling him over and over again he’ll get to see it the day of the gala. That day is finally here and Lance can’t wait any longer.

He humors Keith and waits for him to lead him to the piece, despite there being sometimes he wanted to go off on his own to find it. After what seems like hours of waiting Keith places his hands on top of his eyes. Lance complains for a moment until Keith whispers in his ears.

“My piece is coming up around the corner. You ready?”

Lance can hear the nervousness in his voice. He beams at him to hopefully distill some of his anxiousness.

“Yep! I’m so excited, babe.”

Keith laughs nervously behind him as he leads him forward.

“Then I hope I don’t disappoint,” Keith says.

“You could never,” Lance assures.

Lance can hear the shaky breath let out by Keith as his hands slowly fall from Lance’s eyes.

Lance’s breath is taken away. There in front of him is himself, except he’s made out of water. His body flower with the tune of music playing in his head, the waves crashing into each other at all the perfect places. His eyes are closed but a soft smile rests upon his features, the time taken put into the small fraction clear with the similarity it holds to reality. His violin is a still body of water that emits waves of colorful symphonies through a cascade of water. Fish swim around him, carrying his tune along the beautiful waves. He wants to reach out, follow the path of the water with his fingers that tingle to pluck out a melody.

A soft squeeze of his hand reminds himself of the man next to him awaiting his review.

Lance breaks out into a huge grin as soon as he looks at Keith and throws his arms around his shoulders. He hugs Keith tightly before baking away to overflow with praise.

“Keith! This is amazing! Oh my god I don’t even have the words this is so cool. You made this!” He lets go of his boyfriend to walk closer to the painting, inspecting it further. “How? This is so amazing.”

“So you like it?” Keith asks hesitantly.

“Like it?” He turns back around to him. “Babe, I love it. This is amazing.”

Keith lets out a relieved sigh before he wraps his arms around Lance to plant a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Thanks. I was really worried you wouldn’t.”

Lance leans his head against his shoulder. He places a kiss on the side of his jaw before he responds.

“Crazy, I love everything you do.”

After a moment alone Lance can hear the commotion of his friends coming down the hall. They all came later than the two of them. They let go of one another as they bound over, but their hands stay clasped together. As Keith receives a plethora of praise Lance stands next to him, content to be able to be next to him.

They may still have their issues and a huge amount of insecurities between them, but they’re both happy. They both have their dreams that distract them every once in a while, but they always end up back in each others arms. Lance wouldn’t want to be anywhere else when he’s next to Keith. He found something truly special.

**Author's Note:**

> The alternative title for this fic was "Something Special"
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! You can find me on tumblr at jenster-s


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